The Big Question: Was the space shuttle a good investment?

As I’m sure you’re aware, the space shuttle program will end later this month barring serious weather or technical issues with the July 8 launch date for Atlantis.

Excluding the final three missions, the program has cost NASA an estimated $209 billion. That’s a lot of coin, but it has allowed the United States to stay at the forefront of human spaceflight for three decades, launch untold satellites and construct the International Space Station.

So was it worth it?

Today Pew Research published a poll that asked the public just that, and found that 55 percent of respondents said yes, while 36 percent did not.

Interestingly, college graduates answered yes 66 percent of the time, whereas those with a high school education or less were pretty much split 47 to 43 percent.

Anyway, it’s your turn.

On a side note: I’ll be blogging at SciGuy for the rest of the week, but most of my time and attention will be spent at Final Mission, the Chronicle’s blog devoted to Atlantis’ final launch. Be sure to check it out as the photography is outstanding.